Shooting Stars
by xSereneMeadowsx
Summary: While at Cosmo Canyon, Cloud feels tormented with himself for not being able to protect Aerith. Yuffie senses his uneasiness and decides to try and comfort the spiky blond haired man in the best way she can. The ninja herself feels uneasy with the realization of having feelings for the Avalanche leader and fear of rejection seeps into her heart. CloudxYuffie.


AN: Hello! Welcome to _Shooting Stars_. I hope you all enjoy this! Any and all criticism is wanted and appreciated!

* * *

Shooting Stars

The rebel group known as Avalanche made their stop back at Cosmo Canyon. The leader, Cloud Strife, decided it'd be best to stop here to talk to Red XIII's grandfather to see if he could answer their questions about the crisis of the Planet. The anti-Shinra group had soon discovered that Red XIII's real name was Nanaki and they decided to call him by his real name.

Currently, Cloud and the rest of his companions were sitting around a bon fire. Cloud watched the flames intensely as if the flame would engulf the sadness of having lost their friend Aerith Gainsborough about a month ago. Cloud may have shown that he was fine on the outside but inside, he was torn to pieces. He wished he would've gained control of himself faster and moved her out of Sephiroth's way. He was frozen, stuck like cement, completely helpless. He was unable to do anything. Jenova and Sephiroth had taken over his mind and if it weren't for Yuffie and Nanaki calling out to him to stop him from using his blade to hit Aerith…he shook his head, not wanting to picture the horrible scene of him destroying Aerith.

Cloud clasped his hands together. He also had the experience of being in the Lifestream during his coma. He still didn't know how he survived, but he was grateful for Tifa being by his side in the green substance. Tifa had helped him to find his true self. He realized that he was replacing the stories his old friend Zack had told him and was putting himself in them instead. Zack. Why too did he have to die? Cloud got up and walked away from the group.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked, getting up. Her honey, brown eyes showed worry for her friend.

"I…I just….I just need to be alone for a while. I'm fine." Cloud then walked off and decided he would go up to one of the cliff tops of the massive canyon.

Yuffie Kisaragi watched Cloud leave the group. She could tell that he was bothered with losing Aerith. She too had missed the flower girl. Although she never said it out loud, the ninja had a soft spot and admiration for the pink clad slum woman. She liked the way Aerith was always so courageous and caring towards everything and everyone. The Wutaian Princess sighed and stretched her limbs. As she looked into his captivating, mako-infused blue eyes, there was sadness, worry, and fear written in his sorrowful expression.

Nanaki looked at the group with his left fiery brown eye for his right eye was sealed shut with a scar. The red wolf, feline like creature had obtained many battle scars from wars that were fought on or near his homeland. His tail swished back and forth, a small flame accompanying the tip of his long tail as it moved in motion. He yawned, the day having made him exhausted. He got up and stretched his legs.

"I'm going to go up to my grandfather's now. If you need me, you know where I'm at." Nanaki got up and left his two-legged companions.

Yuffie groaned. She wasn't the kind of person to sit still for very long. She jumped up and decided to head down the path Cloud had taken. Curiosity got the best of her. She decided she wanted to try and comfort the ex-soldier.

"Yo," Barret called out. "Where are you going?"

Yuffie sighed. "I just want to go for a walk. Is that such a big deal?" She stalked away from the group. Everyone was still suspicious that she was up to something that included stealing their equipment and/or materia. That bothered her greatly. Sure, when they had gone to her hometown she stole Cloud's and everyone else's items, but she hadn't done it again. Cloud did seem to be more trusting of her she noted. Cloud had Yuffie in his group more often and it was nice, she had to admit. Her face grew warm and her heart beat sped up. _Argh! Why does this keep happening to me?! _

Deep down inside, Yuffie knew she had a crush on the spiky blond haired man. She was shocked beyond belief when she realized her feelings however, she also knew Tifa had a thing for him. _How can I compete with her?_ Yuffie shook her head. She was Wutai's Greatest Ninja for crying out loud! She shouldn't be having these feelings of 'love' and 'romance.'

By having a man in her life, Yuffie felt that she would be seen as weak and that was something the materia obsessed, thieving girl was not going to tolerate. She wanted freedom and adventure! Luckily, she was getting some of that right now, but she wanted this to be for the rest of her life! Of course, she knew it was inevitable to wish for such a thing. She knew that in the end, she would have to rule over Wutai as much as her soul didn't want to. Her spirit was lively and being in a palace signing treaties all day was not very active.

Getting further up the somewhat steep path, Yuffie saw Cloud gazing up at the sky. _Poor guy… _His back was facing her, but Yuffie could feel the sadness radiating from his presence. She also felt her heart ache and the beat of it start to increase more.

Cloud sighed in disappointment. _Why can't I be better? I should've been a better a body guard!_ He made a fist, his body shaking with rage. He couldn't help feeling so angry with himself. He knew he needed to let this go and move on, but it was no easy task. Easier said than done as the saying goes. He shook his head, trying to calm down. He heaved out a heavy sigh and stared up at the sky again. Hearing approaching footsteps, Cloud turned his head around.

Yuffie met with Cloud's gaze. "Hey!" She ran to where he was at though as she kept going, she started to feel…what was this feeling? Was it…nerves? No way! It couldn't be! Then, why did she feel her heart would burst right out of her chest? Her cheeks felt heated too! Yuffie couldn't believe herself! This wasn't like her. She stood beside Cloud. "H-Hi!" _Why am I stuttering?! _

"Yuffie, are you all right?" Cloud asked, noticing Yuffie's almost confused looking expression.

Yuffie gasped. "Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm okay. No problems whatsoever!" She grinned, but the nervousness she felt wouldn't disappear.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "If you say so…"

Yuffie stared at Cloud. He looked so forlorn that she couldn't help feeling terrible for him. "So, pretty cool up here huh?" Her heart pounded more._ Geez heart! Slow down! You're going to make me die if you keep pumping at this rate! _

"Yeah, I guess…" Cloud sat down on a large rock.

Yuffie joined him on the boulder. She finally decided to admit to herself that she, indeed, had grown feelings of love for the man beside her. It was tough to accept, but she figured she'd be saving herself a lot of trouble. She really wanted to do something for him, to show her feelings, but then thoughts of a certain bar-maid appeared in her mind. _There's no way he'd ever love me. He obviously has feelings for Tifa. She's more of a woman than I'll ever be…argh! I shouldn't be thinking of this right now! I need to find a way to help Cloud out! _She had never been more determined to help someone else out, it was almost scary! Then again, it felt…good to be concerned for someone else instead of herself.

"Cloud…I'm sorry about Aerith…" Yuffie looked down at her lap, twiddling her thumbs.

Cloud looked over at Yuffie. "It's not your fault. I'm the one who let her die."

Yuffie gazed over at Cloud, her dark brown eyes filled with concern. "I…." Cloud wasn't the easiest person in the world to talk to. Plus, with her crushing on him, it didn't really help things out either.

"Yuffie, you should probably go get some rest. Besides, I need to be by myself." Cloud stood up then and stared up at the stars.

Yuffie groaned. "Cloud! You've been in a slump the past three days! I can't take it anymore! I know you feel awful about not being able to save Aerith, but I want you to feel better! You've gotta snap out of it! Please! I love-" She covered her mouth then, eyes widened. _Oh gosh! I almost said how I felt! _She had gotten more nervous with being so close to him that she almost let it get the best of her.

Cloud turned to Yuffie, with a surprised look. "You love…" Now, he was rather curious on what she was going to say before.

"I was going to say…." _C'mon Yuffie! Get it together! Maybe you should just tell him! That way, you're not hiding it forever! If he rejects you, then it's his loss! You're Wutai's Hero! The greatest ninja to ever live!Now, get your butt in gear and just say it! Maybe having a man in your life isn't as bad as you think it is! _She grinned to herself. _Okay, here it goes…_ "I….I was going to say…" _Oh great! I'm acting like a little kid! _This wasn't as easy as she thought it was going to be.

"I won't push you if you don't want to talk about it." Cloud looked at her with understanding. After all, he sometimes didn't want to talk to others about what was on his mind.

Yuffie's short black hair blew in the cooling night breeze. She made fists and closed her eyes. "Cloud Strife! I-we care about you and I-we want you to stop being so depressed!" _What is wrong with me?! I need to just say it! Why can't I just tell him?! Argh! I feel so conflicted!_

Cloud couldn't help chuckling. He was starting to feel a little better, getting amusement from his petite companion.

"H-Hey! Why are you laughing?! No one laughs at Yuffie Kisaragi!" She crossed her arms in an arrogant matter. "I'll have you know that I happen to love you Cloud Strife!" _Finally, I said it! Wait! Oh man! Why do I feel so…so…embarrassed? _Light pink blush covered her cheeks.

"You love me?" Cloud was taken aback by the confession from the ninja. He really had no idea Yuffie felt that way about him.

"Yes okay! Happy?!" Yuffie stood up and had her back facing the man who once worked for Shinra.

"Yuffie…I-" Cloud was unable to finish due to Yuffie interjecting.

"I know! You don't need to say anything! You love Tifa! What guy doesn't?!" Yuffie covered her mouth again, realizing she just unleashed her jealousy. Yes, Yuffie was jealous of Tifa Lockhart. Tifa had the looks, the body, and the personality that a lot of guys looked for in a woman. She cast her eyes to the ground, finding it more interesting and less painful to face. Another secret she kept to herself was she truly did want a man in her life. She wanted to know what it felt like to be loved in a romantic sense. She had fought over this with herself constantly, but the side wanting a man won of course. So now, it probably was the best time to truly accept this feeling.

Cloud got up and walked over to Yuffie, putting his hand on her shaking shoulder. Yuffie felt tears stream down her face. This would be the second time she cried; her first time being when Aerith died. She hated that she was crying! Maybe it was all her emotions melding together causing this to happen.

"Yuffie," Cloud spoke softly. "I appreciate you coming up here and trying to cheer me up. You have made me feel a little better."

Yuffie glanced at Cloud. "I…I have?" She wiped away some of the falling tears.

"Yeah and to be honest, I love Tifa like a sister." Cloud couldn't believe he was doing this. He never wanted to say anything to the group about it. As they all had traveled together, he started to feel different around Yuffie. Sure, he was beyond angry when the nineteen year old stole all their belongings back at Wutai, but she turned herself around and hadn't done anything since. He frequently had her with him along with Nanaki when they all were in different groups.

Part of Cloud wanted to believe that he still had his childhood crush on Tifa, but had come to the conclusion that that was no longer true. His life and Tifa's had changed so much and while it was wonderful to reunite with her, he no longer held those romantic feelings towards her. Being with Yuffie, Cloud's feeling for her had grown more and more. He was especially grateful that she now was getting to know the real him. He never would've thought this was possible to fall in love with Yuffie. _I guess that's just part of love._

"Uh Cloud, didn't you have more to say?" Yuffie was now facing him and looking up into his eyes, with worry and hope that he too felt the same. _I can't believe I cried! I guess…it's okay to cry for some things like this..._

"Yuffie…I…" Cloud slowly leaned down and put his lips on hers, giving her a gentle and loving kiss. He pulled away and looked at her with such tenderness and care. "I love you."

Yuffie's eyes felt wide enough to fall out of her sockets. Her face was beet root red. She put her fingers to her tingling lips. "Cloud-"She was about to say more until two shooting stars in the sky caught her attention. "Wow!"

Cloud followed Yuffie's gaze and watched as the stars hurtled across the sky. He gave a small smile and wrapped an arm around Yuffie's waist.

Yuffie sighed contently, leaning into his touch. _So_ _he really does feel the same…_ "You know what this means now right?!"

Cloud looked down at Yuffie. "Yeah…" He figured she was meaning that they ought to tell the group that they were now an official couple.

"Good! Then you know that you'll have to do everything I say when I say it! That includes buying me all the materia I require!" She grinned up at him. "Oh! We'll also have to tell everyone about us too!"

Cloud laughed, unhooked his arm from around the girl's waist, and started walking away.

"H-Hey! I'm your girlfriend! You can't just leave me behind like that!" Yuffie moaned and ran to catch up with her new boyfriend.

That was one of the reasons why Cloud had fallen for Yuffie in the first place. She was so quick at changing emotions in just seconds. It was a good lesson to learn when out on a journey like the one they were on when the chances for facing hardships like losing a dear friend were very high. Cloud picked up Yuffie, earning a gasp of surprise from the girl as he carried her bridal style the rest of the way back to the inn they were staying at for the night.


End file.
